The London High Court has ruled on more than 61,000 $BTC seized bitcoins (approximately $5 billion): Chinese law, not English law, will determine whether the victims have a property right.
The question everywhere: will the UK really keep these 61,000 bitcoins?
The factual answer. On October 12, 2026, Judge Mark Turner rejected the application of English law to the property claims (Cointelegraph, 13/10). The ruling notes that the losses occurred and the contracts were formed in China. The High Court has not yet decided who owns the coins. A further hearing will examine Chinese law. Fieldfisher is preparing an appeal (Financial Times, cited by Cointelegraph).
Background: the Zhimin Qian fraud (2014–2017), with assets seized in a UK money-laundering investigation. More than 128,000 investors were mentioned in earlier Cointelegraph coverage. Caixin notes that a Chinese framework could limit many victims to principal and interest rather than the capital gain (approximately 200x, according to Caixin).
My take: headlines like “UK keeps $5B BTC” are jumping the gun. This is first and foremost a battle over applicable law, before the merits. The case remains in London; it has not been sent back to China.
Likely paths:
- Base case: experts in Chinese law; some victims prove an interest; complex distribution
- Upside: appeal succeeds and English law is reconsidered
- Risk: recovery limited to creditor-style claims, with capital gains excluded from individual victims’ claims
How far will Fieldfisher’s appeal go, and will the High Court remain the forum to the end?
$BTC #Bitcoin #Crypto
The question everywhere: will the UK really keep these 61,000 bitcoins?
The factual answer. On October 12, 2026, Judge Mark Turner rejected the application of English law to the property claims (Cointelegraph, 13/10). The ruling notes that the losses occurred and the contracts were formed in China. The High Court has not yet decided who owns the coins. A further hearing will examine Chinese law. Fieldfisher is preparing an appeal (Financial Times, cited by Cointelegraph).
Background: the Zhimin Qian fraud (2014–2017), with assets seized in a UK money-laundering investigation. More than 128,000 investors were mentioned in earlier Cointelegraph coverage. Caixin notes that a Chinese framework could limit many victims to principal and interest rather than the capital gain (approximately 200x, according to Caixin).
My take: headlines like “UK keeps $5B BTC” are jumping the gun. This is first and foremost a battle over applicable law, before the merits. The case remains in London; it has not been sent back to China.
Likely paths:
- Base case: experts in Chinese law; some victims prove an interest; complex distribution
- Upside: appeal succeeds and English law is reconsidered
- Risk: recovery limited to creditor-style claims, with capital gains excluded from individual victims’ claims
How far will Fieldfisher’s appeal go, and will the High Court remain the forum to the end?
$BTC #Bitcoin #Crypto